With the job market having taken a body blow and the existing employed suffering pay cuts, students who have jobs in their pockets through campus placements are now afraid their offers might be rolled back. Once again, this is rooted in the fact that there is no clarity on their final-year exams, if and when they will be held, results being declared. Their job offers are incumbent on their successful completion of their study programme, so there is no way they can take up these jobs.
Campus placements were conducted at higher education universities, institutes and colleges until March, before the advent of the last semester exams. At these placements, students have secured jobs after clearing several rounds of interviews, multiple tests and background verification. But for most of these jobs, which generally begin in July-August, the offers are validated only if students clear their final exams and complete their course successfully.
In view of the lockdown, campus placements at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) have been put on hold for now. Falguni Banerjee Naha, public relations officer of the institute, said, "We have put campus placements of all companies on hold due to the current Covid-19 situation. The placement process is generally over before June every year, but right now, everything is on hold. We will get to know the exact scenario only after the lockdown ends."
On the other, students at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, revealed there was a fall in number of placements this year, as companies could not offer jobs due to the pandemic situation. Bhatt Ram, president of theTISS Student Council, said, "We had very few companies, which offered a select few positions via campus placements. For instance, only 60 of 400 students in a particular programme were placed via campus interviews. Companies claimed they were facing an economic crisis and could not afford to hire many students during such unprecedented times."
It is not as though the lucky ones who have secured jobs via campus placements are breathing easy either. They continue to be in suspense about their prospects, not knowing what every new day will bring. A final year student of Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) programme of St Xavier's College, Fort, said, "I have secured a job offer which demands I begin work from July. But, I have not yet completed my final year, as my exams are still pending. The state government is still mulling over the cancellation of final exams. I am waiting anxiously every day, hoping my job offer is not rolled back due to lack of clearance of final year."
